views from the road

January's picture

2012-01-08T18:14:00.001-08:00

Smokey and David studying law over Christmas break...

December picture

2011-12-24T08:31:00.000-08:00

Zoolights! (We had to pose with the bear family...)

november's picture

2011-11-30T18:44:00.001-08:00

Thankful for...

october's picture (trick or treat!)

2011-10-31T22:28:00.000-07:00

from ye olde photo album...

september's picture

2011-09-25T20:57:00.001-07:00

Looks like someone found a geocache...

August's pic

2011-08-27T00:11:00.001-07:00

"Jet Lag at Jardin des Tuileries"

July's picture

2011-07-11T21:03:00.000-07:00

Frozen yogurt.

I like it.

working cat

2011-06-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Obviously my plan of posting a picture a week was far too ambitious! Let's try once a month. Sigh.

This is the cat who works at the hardware store in Kalama. I would have said he's a good clerk, but he shorted me on change.

two roads diverged

2011-05-11T16:39:00.000-07:00

in a green wood

woodland tulips

2011-04-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

This week's picture was actually taken last week. :)

s's

2011-04-23T23:57:00.000-07:00

star wars

space needle

salty's

too much?

2011-04-16T12:21:00.000-07:00

1. Possible sign of too much shopping:

2. Possible sign of too much creativity when choosing a marker:

two pics from today

2011-04-09T15:26:00.000-07:00

1. From the late morning trip to the nearby metropolis of Castle Rock:

Marie expresses confusion regarding the store hours of this shop (and dismay about not being able to get in on a Saturday).

2. From my bike ride late this afternoon:

My buddy is alive and well.

blog shift

2011-04-02T16:30:00.000-07:00

My blogging for some time now has been in little spurts here and there. I really don't want to delete Views from the Road, but I also don't feel compelled or motivated to write much at this point. Of course that could change down the road. (Ooh, note reference to road.)

So.

I am going to modify an idea I got from Christina and simply post a picture per week. (The picture may or may not be accompanied by words!)

We'll see how it goes.

Here's the picture for this week. (It was taken while geocaching with the fam over spring break.)

happy birthday, david!

2011-03-15T00:16:00.000-07:00

He's a renaissance guy...

it could happen

2011-03-13T21:50:00.000-07:00

This past week we saw Christina...

and David...

It is just now occurring to me that we might have a future in Vegas.

ah the weekend...

2011-03-06T00:15:00.000-08:00

It was fun while it lasted...

2011-02-27T23:02:00.000-08:00

...but the rain returned and all of our snow is gone.

*sniff*

questions

2011-02-18T19:35:00.000-08:00

Should Smokey really be sitting on a bag of chips in the pantry?

And why does our pantry make us look like junk food junkies?

oh yeah

2011-02-14T21:49:00.000-08:00

Quite possibly one of the best Grammy moments of all time...

mupet
Uploaded by caseycarlsonx1. - Full seasons and entire episodes online.

Nutty McSquirrel...

2011-02-13T11:52:00.000-08:00

is still alive and well.

That is all.
:)

christina's new roommate

2011-02-04T15:39:00.000-08:00

Gonzo just moved in, making Kermit very happy...

old friends...

2011-01-30T23:40:00.000-08:00

I hadn't seen the two coyotes on the dike for a very long while, but they're back! I managed to get a picture of one of them -- unfortunately a long ways off...

Here's the zoomed in version:

lots of rain...

2011-01-23T19:20:00.000-08:00

...makes for a washed-out hiking trail.

Not complaining though -- it's always nice to get outside.

Friday Five: Books!

2011-01-21T09:06:00.000-08:00

This week's Friday Five about books and reading got me motivated to fire up the ol' blog! (Thanks, Jan!)

1. What books have you recently read? Tell us your opinion of them.
For Christmas, Doug (Christina's boyfriend) gave me Steve Martin's An Object of Beauty, a novel about the business side of art. The book features reproductions of artworks which are cleverly worked into the story. It is ultimately a morality tale, and I predict that the novel will be made into a movie in the future. I loooove Steve Martin.

I am in the middle of reading (and enjoying!) The Book of General Ignorance, which was a Christmas gift from Christina. The subtitle is "Everything You Think You Know is Wrong" -- and that pretty much sums up what the book is about! It seems we have all acquired a lot of misinformation during our lives.

2. What books are awaiting your available time to be read?
My next novel will be The Mysterious Benedict Society, which looks like an easy, fun read. David recently purchased it as a book that he and I could share. I'll read it first, since he is up to his eyeballs in college reading.

3. Have any books been recently recommended?
Amazon recommends allllll sorts of books to me. :)

4. What genre of books are your favorite, along with some titles and/or authors you like best?
Hmmm.... my interests are pretty wide, so it's hard to pick a 'favorite'.

5. What have you read lately that you have a strong urge to recommend? (or to condemn?)
My 'stock' recommendation is Willa Cather's My Antonio, consistently in my top 5 books of all time.

Friday Five: Who or What Lifts You Up?

2010-12-10T09:18:00.000-08:00

For this week's Friday Five, Mary Beth, inspired by the singing of a colleague, asks:

What lifts you up when you are low or troubled? Who helps you remember that you are not alone, it's getting better all the time, etc.? Your five responses can be people you know, people you DON'T know, music, places, foods, scripture, surprises, something you do for someone else. It could be a pair of slippers. It could be a glass of water.

Bonus: Do you like the song "Jingle Bell Rock?" If you do, who do you prefer to hear sing it?

1. Christina and David! They are so much fun to hang around -- and always so thoughtful. (e.g. When they came home for Christmas break last night, they brought flowers and a red velvet cake for our anniversary gift!)

(picture taken this summer at Uncle Maynard's food pantry program in South Dakota)

2. Cats! Sure, Soots is a little 'goofy upstairs', but you gotta love him!

(Soots in a rare moment of calm lap-sitting with Christina)

3. Music! Have I mentioned I like Carole King? ;)

(picture from Mother's Day 2010 concert)

4. My bike! A good bike ride is always uplifting, although this time of year I don't get out nearly as much as I would like.

5. This time of year I looove Christmas books and movies.

Bonus: I'm not that much of a country music fan, but I do like the Randy Travis version of Jingle Bell Rock -- mostly because Mike likes it so much!

blogger meetup!

2010-12-05T17:23:00.001-08:00

Yay! It was great to meet Mompriest! And of course it is always fun to see Serena! Here we are...

for all you cat people out there

2010-11-30T22:12:00.000-08:00

there's still time...

2010-11-29T23:08:00.000-08:00

...for a November blog post! (Looks like I am now in the once-a-month blog club!)

Anywhoo... got some snow right before Thanksgiving. Here is Soots experiencing his first snow:
(And yes, he is wearing his leash and asks you not to make fun of him for that.)

Luckily, C&D made it home for Thanksgiving -- which kept the "Thanks" in Thanksgiving for me!

Stay tuned for December's post! :)

Friday Five: Connecting

2010-10-15T08:43:00.000-07:00

My sputtering on-again, off-again blog is... ON today, as I play the Friday Five. Jan's questions were inspired by her reading of Bowling Alone by Robert D. Putnam and thinking about relationships and the Golden Rule.

Here we go:

1. Self: Who was your hero/heroine when you were about ten years old?
The first person who came to mind was Roy Rogers! Although, this choice is probably more accurate for age 7 or 8 or so. Roy always tried to do the right thing, and got to ride his palomino, Trigger -- cool stuff.

2. Family: Who are you most like? Who is most like you?
I am probably most like my grandmother -- at least I hope so because she was awesome! :) I think my temperament is similar to hers, and I share her appreciation both for the importance of family and for 'the land'/nature.

3. Friends: How do you stay in touch?
My first thought is: 'not well enough' -- because life seems so busy! However, going out to lunch or coffee is one way to keep in touch. Facebook is also nice, especially for 'old' classmates, etc.

4. Neighborhood, community: What are ways you like to be involved?
We know our neighbors and are friendly with them, but it is mostly a 'chat out by the mailbox' kind of thing.

5. Job/church: Do you see a need that will help in developing connections?
My job involves connecting with people all day long -- mostly one on one in the exam room. But often there are family members who come along for the eye exam, and I always appreciate that.

Bonus: A link or anything else about connecting.
Yay! An excuse to post a Carole King song!

return of the empty nest hiking club!

2010-09-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's true! See for yourself!

Friday Five: Storms of Life Edition

2010-09-03T09:16:00.000-07:00

Here's me... scanning the horizon for storms. (OK, this was just an excuse to use a picture from our recent trip to South Dakota.)

I'm baaaaaaaaaack (again). My good blogpal, Processing Counselor, suggested a captcha to help solve my Asian spam dilemma, so I'm giving that a go.

Now onto this week's Friday Five!

Martha writes:
I'm listening this morning for word of Hurricane Earl. Is he coming to visit, or will he bypass my part of Maine and move further Downeast, or veer toward Nova Scotia? Should I buy those bottles of water, just in case wind brings branches and power lines down? And how many times will the tracking map change today?
Herewith, a Friday Five about the storms of life:

1) What's the most common kind of storm in your neck of the woods?
I grew up in North Dakota where the most common kinds of storms were blizzards in the winter and tornadoes in the summer -- each possessing their own special charm. Living now in the Pacific Northwest, I am trying to think of what type of "storm" we get here... and I'm coming up short. We really have super mild weather. (Of course we get lots of rain at times, but not really storm-like rain. We've also had a mild earthquake or two.)

2) When was the last time you dealt with a significant power outage?
I'd have to go back to my childhood and Dakota blizzards for this one. However, when we lost power we had a generator. On the up side we had power and warmth, but on the down side it was so darn loud that our hearing was in jeopardy.

3) Are you prepared for the next one?
Sadly, no. Because of my past experiences (see #1 and #2!), I haven't felt motivated to get a disaster kit together. But if a big earthquake hits, I'm in trouble.

4) What's the weather forecast where you are this weekend?
It's beautiful today (sunny, mid-70s), but the rain is probably rolling in tomorrow.

5) How do you calm your personal storms?
I like music and talking with friends.

you get busy, and the weeds start popping up

2010-08-11T09:33:00.000-07:00

Well, it's pretty obvious my blog has, as of late, turned into this:

And like an abandoned lot, people have started throwing junk into it. I have had an inordinate amount of what I will call "Asian spam" with comments such as this "過去的事早已消失，未來的事更渺不可知，只有現在是真實的" that contain links to probably either viruses or porn or both.

So, for now (until I decide what to do with my poor little lot), I am going to disable comments.

(Thanks, non-spammers, for hanging in there!)

Friday Five: Decisions, Decisions

2010-07-23T09:39:00.000-07:00

Songbird posts this week's Friday Five. She has been thinking about how we make decisions. She writes: Let's keep it simple and go with five word pairs. Tell us which word in the pair appeals to you most, and after you've done all five, give us the reason why for one of them.

Before I start, I just want to interject that I'll bet RevSS would not play a 'forced choice' game. She would answer "They are all ANDS".

1) Cake or Pie
This it tough, but I'm going to go with pie.

2) Train or Airplane
Train, and we need more of it!

3) Mac or PC
PC but only because I don't own a Mac so I can't make a truly informed decision here.

4) Univocal or Equivocal
Equivocal -- life just is.

5) Peter or Paul
Mary

And the reason for one of the above...
I like the train because you can walk around, go to the dining car, plug in your laptop, and watch the scenery.

-----------------------
cartoon from here

if you build it, they will come

2010-07-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

Christina put together this cute little bird house (which I think was a present from Doug), filled it with seed, and placed it on the railing of their balcony deck.

picture by David

holy toledo!

2010-07-11T21:09:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago we went to the Winlock Egg Day Festival. Today we had the distinct pleasure of attending Toledo Cheese Days. (Yes, there is a definite food theme here.)

Sadly we missed out on the free cheese sandwiches at the Toledo Presbyterian Church, but we made up for it by having a different dairy product... ice cream.

My mom had a hot fudge sundae:

Mike had an ice cream cone:

And I went for the chocolate shake:

fourth of july flea market

2010-07-04T10:05:00.000-07:00

Part of Longview's yearly 4th of July celebration is a flea market with lots of vendors lining the lake. I enjoy poking around but don't usually buy too much (although historically I have had a bit of a weakness for bags/luggage -- go figure). Anyway, this year I found a "Cat Sitter" DVD for $3.00. The maker of the DVD basically just lined up small animals (gerbils, birds, fish, etc.), turned the video camera on, and let it roll. I thought Soots and Mr. Tumnus (who is here visiting) would probably enjoy watching it for a few minutes, but they went absolutely NUTS for it! Here is one shot of Soots:

Best $3.00 spent ever. Although if Soots ends up shredding our tv screen, it will be the worst $3.00 spent ever.

(picture taken by Christina)

what could be better than egg day?!

2010-06-26T20:11:00.000-07:00

WooHoo! We went to the Winlock Egg Day Festival today! Winlock is a small town about 25 miles north of here, and they have this event every summer. I've been meaning to go for the past 20-some years, and we finally made it! (Obviously it wasn't the very highest priority in my life or we would have been there sooner...)

Anyway, the weather was beautiful, and we had fun watching the parade, shopping, eating, and posing with chickens.

This was the view on the way home:

views from the text message road

2010-06-23T22:02:00.000-07:00

A cool thing about text messaging is the virtual and/or vicarious travel feature. Tonight I was pedaling my bike on the dike road and I got a text 'out of the blue' from Karen K. saying they were in North Dakota. (She knows I grew up there.) She said she was taking back all previous nasty comments about the state, and that it was "fantasticly green" and "lovely". She sent a picture of their close encounter with a bison:

Pretty cool! (Although I admit to a bit of jealousy.) :)

keepin' grandma in the dark

2010-06-16T23:22:00.000-07:00

Oh that Louise...

Eagle River, Wisconsin
Aug. 16, 1938

Dear Cousin,
Don't know whether or not you have heard that I am vacationing in northern Wis. so will drop you a line. Came a week ago Sunday with Stiles from Dav(enport). Last week we were near a lake about 18 mi so. of Superior. Sunday we bathed in Lake Sup. This week we are near a lake about 24 mi. north of Rhinelander. We plan to start home early Sun. a.m. It has been quite cool up here. Have been sleeping under blankets and have had fire every a.m. and evening. How is Iowa weather? If Grandma doesn't know I'm up here, better not tell her until I get home. With love, Louise. The scenery is beautiful. Especially the moonlight on the water.

"bonding" at the beach

2010-06-13T23:57:00.000-07:00

Went to Cannon Beach today...

Friday Five: Work Out Edition

2010-06-11T09:26:00.000-07:00

Mompriest gives us this week's Friday Five! She writes:
For this Friday Five let's ponder the various ways we work out (or not), physically, spiritually, and/or psychologically.

1. Do you work out physically, spiritually, or psychologically? (I'll let you define what that might mean to you)
I don't think any of my activities would be strenuous enough to use the term "work out". :)

2. Are you more inclined to join a gym, or a book club?
I would be more inclined to join a book group -- actually I would love to find a good book group to join! I'm less inclined to join a gym because I prefer getting my exercise in the great outdoors.

(That's me in Colorado with Christina & David.)

3. Are you more inclined to read self-help books like Gail Sheehy's "Passages" or spiritual books like Richard Rohr or Theresa of Avila? And if so, what is your favorite?
Hmm... I don't really read self-help books (maybe I should!) -- I'd be more likely to read spiritual books. (Actually I read Black Elk Speaks some time ago and that was cool...)

4. Are you a loyal fan of a sports team? Or do you join the bandwagon when the local team is winning? And, if so, which one?
I enjoy baseball, and I root for both the Minnesota Twins (team of my childhood) and Seattle Mariners. When they play each other I don't care who wins!

5. Or do you lean more toward having a favorite theologian/Spiritual writer or self help author and if so, who? And, why.
In terms of theologian-type writers I like Marcus Borg and Kathleen Norris (although I haven't read anything lately by either of them).

Bonus: What was the last play-off series you watched and did your team win?
The only thing I can think of is Dancing with the Stars! And obviously that doesn't count, so no bonus points for me!

ya just gotta laugh...

2010-06-10T22:04:00.000-07:00

...but in an existentialist/absurdist sort of way:

Soots the Jungle Cat

2010-05-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

Our lawnmower was broken and we finally got a new one... but then the weather was rainy so it was difficult to get out and cut the tall grass. But Soots didn't mind -- he enjoyed playing fierce jungle cat. (He says to ignore the leash part.)

a couple of new postcards...

2010-05-23T17:51:00.000-07:00

When we were in McMinnville recently, we stopped at an antique store and I found a few postcards.

This one doesn't fit either the 'road' theme or the geographic area on which I concentrate, but I do allow myself to pick up postcards in the "miscellaneous" category if I find something that strikes my fancy. And this one struck my fancy because I love Cary Grant! I wonder if that is Cary's sporty green car in the driveway.

This next one caught my eye because it features Donaldson's in Minneapolis. We went to Minneapolis on buying trips for the drugstore a lot when I was growing up, and I used to remember shopping at Dayton's and Donaldson's -- but Dayton's seemed quite a bit better (and in the late 60's cooler) to me. I'm actually not sure if this is that same Donaldson's company or not...

The postcard is over 100 years old -- postmarked September 8, 1909.
The writing is a bit tough to read, but it says something like:
Have lots to tell you, but do not know where to start. Love, Borghild

That's my exact thought sometimes when I am trying to catch up with people!

may 18

2010-05-18T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today is the 30th anniversary of the big Mt St Helens eruption. Back in 1980, we were in Forest Grove, Oregon attending optometry school. Here is a picture we snapped from campus. (That's one of the dorms in the foreground.) The photo wasn't taken during the initial eruption, but during one of the ash eruptions that followed shortly thereafter.

Little did we know that we would eventually be living even closer to the volcano...

E.T. and friends

2010-05-16T20:45:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the fun, kooky, and (yes, even) informative UFO Festival in McMinnville, Oregon. Mike likes to go, and I'll admit it's a good time! The weather was beautiful and people watching was excellent. ;) One of the speakers was Travis Walton, the UFO witness and abductee on whom the film "Fire in the Sky" was based. I hadn't seen the movie before, so it is on our Netflix list now. (As a bonus it features James Garner, whom I really like.)

This is Travis talking about those pesky aliens who abducted him:

A cool part of the festival is the parade in downtown McMinnville. Here is an alien float...

And an alien family...

And even an alien dog...

thanks for voting...

2010-05-15T18:55:00.000-07:00

The photo of Christina snagged second place in the Tulip Photo Contest! There were 502 entries! (I think the prize is braggin' rights.)

List of the 5 winners here.

Friday Five: Family Trees

2010-05-13T22:55:00.000-07:00

Sophia had a recent "genealogical adventure" which inspired this week's Friday Five...

1. Do you have any interest in geneaology?
Yes! Several years ago I did some research and was able to get lots of good genealogical information. I haven't done any recent work, but I would like to get back into that and create a family tree book.

2. Which countries did your ancestors come from?
My ancestry is entirely of the "Germans from Russia" group. (Quick definition: In the 18th century, the Russian Czar invited German citizens to settle near the Black Sea and Volga River areas. In the 19th century, many of them moved on to America. Quicker definition: Think Lawrence Welk.)

3. Who is the farthest back ancestor whose name you know?
That would be Wendell Hoerth and his lovely wife Otilia -- both born around 1583.

4. Any favorite saints or sinners in the group?
My most famous relative is Bob Newhart.

5. What would you want your descendants to remember about you?
Hmm... I guess if I ever do complete my family tree book, they would fondly remember that I gathered and preserved that information for them!

Bonus: a song, prayer, or poem that speaks of family to you.
I'm going with this clip of the closing credits of the Lawrence Welk Show. That show reminds me of family -- both mine growing up and my own kids who watched it (on PBS) as they were growing up. And I love Lawrence's accent -- it reminds me of 'home'. :)

an experience of a lifetime

2010-05-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had a glimpse of heaven (without having to go through a pesky near death experience first). Yep, yesterday was the Carole King and James Taylor concert in Seattle. I keep searching for an adjective to describe it, but keep coming up short. AMAZING will have to do.

Mike, my mom, and I met Christina and David in Seattle and had lunch -- at which time Mike revealed a surprise. We had purchased our tickets back in January (and I was excited they were floor seats), but unbeknownst to me Mike had done a significant upgrade for my mom and me for Mother's Day. For a charitable donation (a yikes! amount but for a good cause), he got us access to CK & JT's sound check session, a reception with hors d'oeuvres, and Stage Seats -- and ours were in the first row!

At the end of the sound check session, Carole and James came and talked to our group for a bit. We got James' autograph on our commemorative book, and he signed David's CD too. Way cool! The concert was, seriously, the best one I have ever been to. Carole is my favorite performer of all time (and James rolls in at number two), and they were just incredible. I could go on and on... but I'll just share some of the pictures I took.

And here are a couple of pictures taken by the stage seats...

(Mike is up for "Best Guy Ever" award, by the way!)

vote for christina!

2010-05-04T00:29:00.000-07:00

Christina has a photo entered at the Tulip Photo Contest. What could she win? I have no idea! But it would be cool if she won, so go vote! :)

old home movies

2010-05-02T13:12:00.000-07:00

One other thing I did while on my "blogbatical" was play around with old home movies from my childhood -- using some of that footage to create new small movies. For example, I found a section which included my cousin and I made him a video birthday card.

Continuing the theme from an earlier post of giving my mom a hard time (!) -- here's a little movie I did saluting her parenting skills. It's especially fitting with Mother's Day right around the corner. Enjoy!

Friday Five: Friendship

2010-04-30T07:55:00.000-07:00

Kathrynzj "spent the better part of last week on a continuing education cruise with a group of revgals", so today's Friday Five is about friendship.

1) Do you remember your first best friend? What did you do together? Are they still in your life?

Debbie D! (That's her on the left at my 9th birthday...)

Oh gee, what didn't we do?! There was lots of playing outside (bike riding, swimming at the pool, etc.) We formed a two-person club, the "N.O." (Nosy Organization) and made a little clubhouse in her garage attic. We played with Barbies (which may explain my cake) and had epic Monopoly battles (notice I did not use the word 'game'!) I lost touch with Debbie over the years and haven't been able to find her! I might have to hire a private eye!

2) Did you ever have to move away or have your best friend move away from you?
We moved in the middle of my junior year in high school from North Dakota to Montana, but Debbie and I weren't "best" friends then, just "regular" friends! I definitely missed the friends I left behind, but made some really good new friends.

3) Are there people in your life now that you can call 'friend'?
Yikes, I hope so!

4) What are some of your favorite things to do with your friends?
Go for coffee, meet for lunch, bop around antique stores, break glassware while transporting it in the van (yes there's a whole story there!), etc.

5) What is a gift friendship has given you?
The gift of 'connection', if that makes sense.

catch up

2010-04-26T22:38:00.000-07:00

Yep, I'm going to catch you up on some of the things I did while on my "blogbatical"...

In March the fam went to Las Vegas for spring break (in honor of David's 21st birthday). Here we are walking around the Wynn Casino:

Actually the setting there looks sort of Pacific Northwesty, so I guess we could have stayed home for that! We had a great time though -- went to lots of shows, etc. As a family we broke about even on the gambling (due to the superior blackjack skill of Christina -- Who knew?!)

Every trip my mom usually makes one attempt to do me in.
Blog readers might remember this from a trip to Alcatraz a few years ago:

On this trip, my mom made her move when I got a little too close to the edge of one of the ponds at the Flamingo...

My mom is a wily one! :)

the road has reopened

2010-04-25T00:18:00.000-07:00

About 5½ weeks ago I took a blogging break. Both my time and motivation for blogging had been decreasing. Apparently I haven't been the only one. I've noticed on the ol' web that the golden age of blogs is probably behind us.

A June '09 New York Times article cited a Technorati survey that found "only 7.4 million out of the 133 million blogs the company tracks had been updated in the past 120 days. That translates to 95 percent of blogs being essentially abandoned..." Why, you ask? Well, there are probably a number of reasons but The Guardian's Charles Arthur gives one of the biggies: "Because blogging isn't easy. More precisely, other things are easier – and it's to easier things that people are turning." --e.g. Facebook (more here)

Here's some advice from a Wired article entitled Twitter, Flickr, Facebook Make Blogs Look So 2004: "Thinking about launching your own blog? Here's some friendly advice: Don't. And if you've already got one, pull the plug."

Well that's succinct.

So what the heck am I doing back? I'm not really sure. I guess I wasn't ready to say bye-bye to Views from the Road just yet. So I'll head down this road for a little while longer -- at least until I see what's around the next bend for me.

---------------------------------------------------
picture above: one of my old postcards, "Inspiration Point"

the road will reopen

2010-03-25T14:13:00.000-07:00

Due to semi-popular demand (I flatter myself!), Views from the Road will be back -- but only after I take a much needed recharge-the-blogging-batteries break. So I plan to be offline for a full month (from today). On April 25th I'll ease on down The Road again.

(I tried to find a countdown timer without the ad, but no such luck.)

Views from the Road will return

trails end at views from the road

2010-03-17T18:09:00.001-07:00

It's time for a blogging break. I'm not sure when (or really even if) I'll be back posting. (Comments are being disabled, but feel free to email me.)

So, blog friends, in the words of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans...
Happy Trails to you, until we meet again

Frday Five: Spiritual or Religious?

2010-03-12T08:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Mompriest attended a conference led by Diana Butler Bass, and that sparked this week's Friday Five. Mompriest invites us to share five thoughts, ideas, or practices that we consider to be "religious", then five we consider to be "spiritual."

Here are 5 I would put in the "religious" category:

1. Responsive readings during church. I am going to write in the past tense here since I am presently unchurched... but I often found responsive readings devoid of significant meaning (at least on a personal level). And maybe my being a child of the 60's gives me a big nonconformist streak, but I don't like being 'forced' to say something I may or may not agree with.

2. Standing, sitting in unison at specified times during church services. Again, I'm sure my nonconformist streak doesn't help this one.

(googled image from here)

3. Singing some of the hymns. I just flipped open a hymnal and randomly saw: "Good Christians all rejoice and sing! Now is the triumph of our King." The 'King' stuff always seems weird to me. (On the other hand, I have no trouble with Cat Stevens' Morning Has Broken...)

4. My former church always insisted on 'doing' communion the exact same ritualistic way. This made communion 'religious' instead of 'spiritual'.

5. Going to church simply out of habit...

And here are 5 things that are, for me, in the spiritual category:

1. Being out in nature. There is a 'spirituality of place' when one is hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, etc.

(from one of our Mount Hood area hikes)

2. Music. And I often find 'secular' music significantly more meaningful and spiritual than 'church' music. Just one example that comes to mind is Carole King's song Tapestry.

3. Theatre. Quite often I find plays to be transcendent. One example would be Broadway's Wicked. Another would be WWU's production of Dog Sees God in which Christina played Marcy.

4. Reading. A good book (fiction or nonfiction) can also be transcendent.

5. Petting Soots. Yep, spiritual! :)

And as a bonus, since I picked on the church earlier... When church 'services' are 'gatherings' and have an experiential focus, that can be spiritual!

monday

2010-03-07T22:03:00.000-08:00

On Monday when I am doing this...

(googled the picture, so it's not actually me!)

and this...

Soots and 'Grandma' get to do this...

and this...

The Saga of Soots

2010-03-06T10:39:00.001-08:00

Wow, it has been almost a week since I last posted. It has been a busy week. On Monday morning Soots seemed listless, and he didn't perk up during the day. He didn't want to eat or drink. (While we were at work my mom kitty-sat.) We ended up taking Soots to the vet after work that day. (I reached the after hours number of our veterinarian's office for some advice. The vet called back and offered to meet us and open up his office to check out Soots. We have always been loyal clients anyway, but that REALLY sealed the deal!)

Soots had a fever and was a little dehydrated -- probable upper respiratory infection. They gave him subcutaneous fluids, started him on an antibiotic, etc. After a couple of days Soots perked up. He is now playing like crazy and eating like a horse.

Whew!

It's official!

2010-02-28T13:20:00.000-08:00

His name is Soots! We all deliberated a l-o-n-g time and considered many, many names. But seeing as this name had popped into a dream of Christina's AND the kitty's nose & paws look like he got into some soot made it destiny. :)

He was incredibly good on the 3 1/2 hour ride home last night, then settled right into bed.

We have been playing and exploring the house today.

Christina and David did an excellent job of finding this kitty at the shelter!

Guess who we are picking up tomorrow!

2010-02-26T19:08:00.000-08:00

Or would that be "Guess whom..."?

In any event, it's the new über-cute kitty, who is currently hanging out at Christina's with Mr. Tumnus!

(Christina took the pictures earlier today.) Tumnus and the new kitty look like brothers!

The new kitty does not yet have a name. We will wait to name him until we see him "in person" -- and get input from Christina and David. I've been trying to think of some preliminary ideas for names, but have come up short. And the "cute cat names" websites aren't being that helpful either, although "Raymond Purr" did make me smile. :)

new kitty's a comin'...

2010-02-24T23:37:00.000-08:00

... so stay tuned for details!

(photo taken with David's cell phone)

festival update

2010-02-20T13:18:00.001-08:00

Christina is home (well, back at college that is) from a great week in Reno where she participated in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. (She is in Region 7 which includes Alaska, Northern California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Northern Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.)

We were so excited for her -- She made her way to finalist for the prestigious Irene Ryan Award. Although she didn't win the whole shootin' match, what an accomplishment and honor to get that far (one of 16 chosen out of 230)!

Yep, we're proud!

not again!

2010-02-17T22:39:00.001-08:00

First they "updated" (and by that I think we mean "ruined") Strawberry Shortcake, and now they've done it to Rainbow Brite! (Apparently this happened several months ago (story here), but I just found out about it.)

The original:

The updated:

WHY?!

At least the Sprites are still cute... that is, until they get personal trainers and develop skinny waistlines.

Remembering Marble

2010-02-15T20:28:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, we had Marble for over 16 years. Today I gathered pictures of him to do a slideshow video. I set it to Al Stewart's Time Passages which worked really well. Only it didn't work well for Mr. Stewart who is reaallllly picky about copyright issues. Sheesh. (I would have happily paid but that wasn't an option.)

Soooo... the alternate soundtrack isn't as good, but it works.

Song #1 is Carole King's Brighter (because Marble made our world brighter). Song #2 is the Grass Roots' Glory Bound (because it is upbeat, I like the Grass Roots, and I guess one could say Marble is glory bound).

Anyway, we all love and miss Marble -- he was a one of a kind cat.

billy john and elton joel...

2010-02-11T15:56:00.000-08:00

Er, make that Billy Joel and Elton John. That's who we saw in concert last night in Portland. We opted for the cheap seats behind the stage -- they were close in terms of physical distance but facing the 'wrong' direction. But it actually turned out pretty well! Since the pianos were pointed sideways, we got a nice view of Billy Joel for the entire concert.

We mostly saw the side and back of Elton John's head...

But there were times he did turn around!

Anyway, the old guys still have it. It was a great concert. Even so, I'm considering it just a warm up for (yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!) Carole King and James Taylor in May.

"Staving off the Gloom" Friday Five

2010-02-04T23:30:00.000-08:00

Sally writes this week's Friday Five:

Candlemass is past, and Christmas is well and truly over, here in the UK February looks set to be its usual grey and cold self. Signs of spring are yet to emerge; if like me you long for them perhaps you need ways to get through these long dark days. So lets share a few tips for a cold and rainy/ snowy day....

1. Exercise, what do you do if you can't face getting out into the cold and damp?
I ride my stationary bike and channel surf. (That might count as two exercises.)

2. Food; time to comfort eat, or time to prepare your body for the coming spring/summer?
Umm, both?

"Me want fooooooood!"

3. Brainpower; do you like me need to stave off depression, if so how do you do it?
I don't really find that I need to stave off depression per se, but I do like to keep the ol' noggin functional. Reading and making my little slide show videos both work well for this.

4. How about a story that lifts your spirits, is there a book or film that you return to to stave off the gloom?
I tend to read and watch new things rather than repeat... but if I want a good laugh I'd probably watch one of the Pink Panther movies. Peter Sellers and Steve Martin both crack me up.

5. Looking forward, do you have a favourite spring flower/ is there something that says spring is here more than anything else?
We have tulips planted in our yard. Those say spring!

Bonus; post a poem/ piece of music that points to the coming spring...

It's gotta be Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra!

Groundhog Day

2010-02-02T00:00:00.000-08:00

In honor of Groundhog Day:

Question of the Day: If faced with a similar 'time loop' situation, would you be tempted to do the same to ol' Ned?

mr. t

2010-01-31T20:51:00.000-08:00

Mr. Tumnus might be thinking, "Oh man, I have to go to work tomorrow."
Or maybe that's me.

back to back birthdays!

2010-01-28T00:00:00.000-08:00

And today it's my mom's birthday. I think we should celebrate with a parade!

(She's the one on the far left side.)

birthday multiple choice quiz

2010-01-27T00:00:00.000-08:00

It's Christina's birthday!

How do you suppose Christina is feeling about that?

a. Happy! Bring on the cake!

b. Another birthday? Scary!

c. Birthdays?! Pfffft!

Happy Birthday, Christina!

Sing along here...

and I thought I was clumsy...

2010-01-25T20:25:00.000-08:00

A woman taking an art class at the Met fell into a Picasso and ripped it.

Full story here.

On a happy note, at least she didn't damage Dogs Playing Poker.

our marb-meister

2010-01-24T11:56:00.000-08:00

Since he pops up here from time to time, my blog friends probably all know Marble. Santa brought him to us as a kitten...

...and he is now over 16 years old. His health has significantly declined in the last 2 weeks, so Christina and David were able to make a quick trip home this weekend to check in with him one more time...

We love Marble so it's a sad time, but we're glad he has had a long, happy life.

sweeeeeeeet

2010-01-20T18:55:00.000-08:00

OK, here's one more postcard from the SS lunch meeting. This one was sent on September 30, 1974 from Charles and Kathy who were visiting Great Falls, Montana to Emma in Olympia, Washington. I think either Charles or Kathy (or both) must have a serious sweet tooth. How else does one explain what was written?

Dear Emma,
We're enjoying this part of Montana & today visited the Charlie Russel art gallery & studio here in Great Falls -- our objective. Was just great & worth our time & trip. We are fine, the car, trailer & sugar all in good working order. Cold but crisp & sunny days -- a skiff of snow during last nite. Beautiful country over Rockies. Hope all's well with you & Duke. Imagine your excited about your company now. Thinking of you with love. Charles & Kathy

I'm glad their sugar was in good working order. I know the sugar I had in my molasses cookie tonight was certainly in good working order as well -- and that's always a good thing.

Saturday with Serena

2010-01-16T11:30:00.000-08:00

OK, we actually got together yesterday, but where's the alliteration in "Friday with Serena"?! Anywhoo, drove through a torrential downpour (only a slight exaggeration) to meet Serena for lunch at our favorite waterside restaurant in Olympia. The picture was taken just outside the restaurant. (I wore my hair Conan O'Brien style in solidarity with that performer.) After lunch we did a walkabout and I picked up a few old postcards. Here's my favorite (which I bought with Christina in mind).

It's a postcard from 1908 advertising an upcoming play. Apparently the play was going to be pretty darn funny (or at least delightful):

Friday Five: IF

2010-01-15T08:02:00.000-08:00

Jan has us pondering the following...

1. If you were a color, what would you be?
I'm going to say blue-green, the color of deep water, like here at Crater Lake. (By the way, I can't believe I've never been there and we only live one state over! I'm going to have to 'fix' that!)

2. If you were a flower (or plant), what would you be?
Maybe one of those scrappy trees up near the top (treeline) of a mountain. For example, an alpine larch is hardy enough to survive low temperatures in thin, rocky soil, and its wood is strong and durable.

3. If you were an animal, what kind would you be?
I would be a dolphin, because they are smart and get to play in the ocean. (But hopefully I wouldn't get caught in a tuna net.) Ah, here's good ol' Flipper:

4. If you were a shoe, what type would you be?
TEVAS! They are quite versatile and fit my 'style'. I've worn them hiking, to work, and even gone into a lake with them on.

5. If you were a typeface, which font would you be?
Hmm... maybe something like freestyle script because it seems 'friendly'.

Bonus: Anything connected with metaphors that you'd like to contribute.
Because I like looking on the bright side...

--------------------
credit:
all pictures googled

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

2010-01-14T14:57:00.001-08:00

Mike gets up before I do every morning, so he usually has a chance to see the tv news and/or look at the newspaper while I'm still sleeping. He has this cute(?) little habit of greeting me with the bad news of the day. (e.g. So-and-so prominent person has died, there was a natural catastrophe here or there, the stock market has tanked, etc.)

This morning he brought the folded newspaper upstairs, and I was expecting a doozy of a bad news story. (Of course we were already aware of the heart-breaking story in Haiti.) But instead of bad news, he showed me THIS:

WHAT?! My two FAVORITE performers of all time will be in the area?! TOGETHER?! (A giant "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" and happy dance ensued.) He got right on it, and I am happy to report we (i.e. the whole fam) will be seeing them in May in Seattle.

Again I say: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

(Sorry, I really can't help myself.)

sports commentary

2010-01-12T22:02:00.001-08:00

Zero:

Hero:

'Nuff said.

facebook theology (it's baaaack!)

2010-01-10T11:08:00.001-08:00

OK, having addressed the 'ethics' of posting this, I have rescued 'facebook theology' from the recycle bin and am offering it back up for your perusal...

------------------------------------

Even though facebook consists of short (and often trivial) snippets, I think you can learn a lot about people by what they post. Case in point: M (I will use first initial only) is someone my family knew when he lived in our city. He now lives in a different state and tunes pianos for a living. Many of his status updates have to do with pianos, but lots of them refer to how much he loves God, his church, etc. Of course that wouldn't be a problem, but some of his status updates lead one to seriously question if M "practices what he preaches".

The other day David (and then Christina) found one of M's status updates particularly troublesome, and challenged him on it. (J, a friend of M whom we don't know, jumped in to defend M.) It's a little bit long, but interesting. Read on!

M tuned for a homeless shelter today. Needless to say, I kept a close eye on my tool bag while I worked.

David
Yeah, I remember Jesus was always really wary of the poor too.

J
David, there's no problem with a little caution when it comes to expensive tuning tools. "Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." Mathew 10:16 (as spoken by the aforementioned Jesus)

David
J, I don't have a problem with people being protective of expensive possessions. But, criminalizing the status of the poor is something Jesus would never have done and I think it's immoral. See the entire New Testament.

M
I guess I should've left my HP ipaq lying on the piano while I went to the bathroom. After all, I would NEVER think it may end up missing after I returned. Oh, and by the way, since Jesus is all knowing, and we are not, I am sure He would know before hand if it was safe to leave his stuff.

Sorry dude, my status comment was not criminalizing the poor.

Besides several staff members told me to take my stuff with me if I left for a moment, and they even had someone guard the piano. Maybe that's criminalizing. Let me know and I'll give you their number and you can tell them that that's something Jesus would never have done and that it's immoral.

J
Admit it, M. Although you thought you were posting something interesting about your day, the authority of the entire New Testament (with David's help) has exposed your darkly immoral prejudices.

M
I know it! I guess I am not without sin.....

Christina
Hmm, no, your status comment was absolutely criminalizing the poor. You assumed that based on the fact that they are poor, they will likely steal your things. That is pretty much the definition of criminalizing, which you need to recognize. And maybe you're right, maybe they would have stolen your stuff. However, as a general rule, it is probably wise to keep track of your belongings in public because ANYONE might be tempted to take your things, regardless of their socioeconomic status. At the very least, you should take responsibility for your offensive and prejudicial attitude. I do not expect you to be "without sin", but because you are someone who is constantly touting their love for Jesus on the internet, to see such a lack of compassion for poor people, many of whom live in a deep state of desperation and despair, is hypocritical at best.

J
Christina, you and David are MFEO! I don't think you guys are concerned that M harbored these feelings of wariness. I think you are peeved that he expressed them publicly. There is a term for this kind of cognitive dissonance whereby we harshly judge others for giving voice to perfectly reasonable thoughts: Political Correctness. I, too have worked with people that minister to the homeless. They are full of compassion and the love of Jesus yet understand their clientele better than anyone. Their admonition to M came from experience.

M
. . . what J said. And Christina, you are wrong, I was not criminalizing the poor.

Christina
J: Nope, I am indeed concerned that M harbored these feelings of wariness for reasons that I have already clearly outlined.

M: You either do not understand the definition of criminalization, or you are in an unfortunate state of denial. Either way, there is no point in me continuing this hopeless discussion.

M
Best thought you've had...
------------------------------

And I'm cutting it off there. M and J had more to say, but their comments were almost entirely just personal, character attacks on David and Christina.

Soooo, if you've hung with this so far...
Christina and David do not regularly attend a church. And if they perceive that many church-goers have attitudes like M's (and J's), why should they want to?!

I find the M's and J's of the world frustrating to say the least. What is YOUR take on this?

what to do, what to do...

2010-01-10T08:09:00.001-08:00

I posted "facebook theology" last night (regarding a facebook conversation which raised some interesting theo issues), but I'm removing it this morning while I ponder the ethics of putting a facebook conversation on blogger.

On the one hand, it's already on the internet (and last names would not be used here).

On the other hand, I don't know if that's a kosher thing to do.

Opinion?

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photo from here

Friday Five: Dreams

2010-01-08T08:55:00.001-08:00

Todays' Friday Five asks us to share about the many different dreams and visions in our lives.

1. Do you tend to daydream?
Hmm... I guess I would say that when I have the luxury of time on my hands (which is not often enough) I do like to do a bit of day dreaming.

2. Do you usually remember your night dreams? Do you find them symbolic and meaningful or just quirky?
I wish I remembered my dreams more often. I have a tendency to think that one can find symbolism in all 'quirky' dreams and derive some sort of meaning from them.

3. Have you ever had a life changing dream which you'll never forget?
I have a couple of dreams I'll never forget (which involve people who have passed away), but I wouldn't say they were life changing.

4. Share a long term dream for one or more aspects of your life and work.
This is superficial, but I have had a dream to convert our dining room into a 'relaxing room' (the dining room just doesn't get used that often and is a waste of space) and I hope that will happen this year.

5. Share a dream for 2010.
I just got Gore's new book, Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis. Helping the planet is definitely a dream/goal for me.

Bonus: a poem, song, artwork, etc. that deals with dreams in general or one of your dreams
I have no idea what the lyrics mean, but the title fits and I like this Supertramp song:

the picture says it all

2010-01-02T14:46:00.000-08:00

last day of winter break

vintage new years postcard (or... the more things change, the more they stay the same)

2010-01-01T10:29:00.000-08:00

This postcard was sent from cousin Mary in Chicago to cousin Betsey in Kansas on December 30, 1916. It was the time of the First World War, also known as the War to End All Wars. (Well, that didn't happen.)

My Dear Cousin,
May this be a Happy New Year to you Betsey and all your Bairns. Hope you are prospering. We are all well and doing well. Santa was very good to us all. How are the children. Do write me a letter soon and I promise to ans(wer) soon. I suppose you have heard from Aunt Bennie lately. Robert Scott and Robert Proctor was killed in the war. R. Scott was only 20 years old. I only hope no more of our cousins are killed. I think it's time we had peace--write me soon. With love from Arnold & myself--Mary Gabriel.

Mary (I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I include her!) and I wish you a happy, peaceful New Year.

in the nick of time...

2009-12-30T22:06:00.000-08:00

David and I went on a nice little hike on Monday. On the way home we pulled off the interstate and he took this picture of Mount Saint Helens about 2 seconds before the light faded out.
Purty.

'tis the season

2009-12-27T23:55:00.000-08:00

Wow, even Mr. Tumnus and Marble are exhibiting some good will and a little peace on earth...

Will it hold for 2010?

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T11:36:00.000-08:00

This old postcard says it well:

Best Wishes for Christmas
To all the good and friendly foks
Who in your house abide,
The folks who live at our house wish
A Merry Christmas-tide.

The back says it pretty well too!

Hello everybody--
How are you all? We are well. How do you like this weather? There is quite a lot of sickness here. Wishing you a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year!
Asa & Muriel

Along with Asa and Muriel, I'm wishing all my blogger friends a very Merry Christmas!

holiday happenings

2009-12-20T10:43:00.000-08:00

On Friday we went to Portland to do a little shopping (key word: little), dinner at Jake's (key word: yum), and a visit to The Grotto, a Catholic shrine and botanical garden (key word: pretty). (BTW, the picture above was taken on our way back to a parking garage in downtown Portland.) The Grotto has had a Festival of Lights for many years, but this was the first year we actually got around to going to it. In addition to the Christmas lights, they have music performances, a petting zoo, and a puppet show. (Puppet show, not so good.) Anyway, it would have been perfect with a little dusting of the white stuff, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen. (And I shouldn't complain due to the really nasty weather other parts of the country are experiencing.)

I did just finish reading about snow though -- in the book Christmas on Mill Street. Part of why I liked the book was that it is set during the winter of 1962, when the main character was nine years old. (I was six then). I'm usually up for a little nostalgia this time of year. Anywhoo, it's a warm 'n cozy, feel-good Christmas story which I would recommend if you're into that genre.

Friday Five: Christmas Traditions

2009-12-18T00:05:00.000-08:00

For this Friday Five, Jan asks us to "share five things about the Christmas traditions in your family."

Since Christina and David are home (yay!), I snagged Christina to help with this while David was practicing his trumpet.

Traditions we always do:
* Some time during the season we go to the Portland Zoo to take in Zoolights.

* There are a few "must watch" Christmas movies -- e.g. PeeWee's Christmas Special, The Snowman, Muppets Christmas Carol, and Rankin-Bass specials.

* Christmas tree ornaments are put on the tree while David selects/plays the music.

* On Christmas Eve, we go to a church service, then go to Grandma's for a huge holiday food spread before opening presents.

*Oh yes, and who can forget... the cats always get catnip from Santa on Christmas morning.

Traditions we always cook or eat:
* Christmas cookies

* Fudge!

* Hickory Farms cheese spread, crackers, and meat

* Ham or turkey on Christmas day

Traditions we would like to start:
This year we bought a Germans from Russia board game (to help celebrate our ethnicity!) which we just played this evening. This has a pretty good shot at becoming an annual tradition.

Traditions we would like to discard:
* Someone always seems to get a Christmas cold. Let's ditch this tradition.

* Also, we almost always have a 'green' Christmas here in the Pacific NW -- We'd rather have a white one.

Anything about our family Christmases:
We always stay home, and have a small, but nice holiday.

crappy, cranky, christmas cold

2009-12-15T13:26:00.000-08:00

Well, dang, worked the morning but had to reschedule afternoon patients because this is me:

I don't feel too bad, but as the morning progressed, my voice really became, shall we say, not operational. Hopefully with rest and perhaps a massive infusion of chicken soup, I can work tomorrow.

O Christmas Tree

2009-12-13T10:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went out in search of the quintessentially perfect Christmas tree.

This was not it:

At this time of year, it's important to slow down.
Take time to kiss the llamas...

Decorating...

Mr. Tumnus is in charge of monitoring water level and needle droppage.

song of long ago

2009-12-11T10:30:00.000-08:00

A couple of nights ago I went upstairs to wrap Christmas presents but got side-tracked when I moved old photos out of the way to get to the wrapping paper. Several months ago I had discovered the trunk of old photos when my mom moved into her condo, and Carole King's Song of Long Ago had been rattling around in my head in conjunction with that. So I finally put it all together.

Basically it was done as a video Christmas card to my cousins, Keith and Cheryl. Growing up, my brother, Paul, and I used to love getting together with them. I think the slideshow is more poignant since we lost my brother some 13 years ago already, but it was really created to celebrate the wonderful times we had together 'long ago' in the Dakotas. (Mostly we four cousins are featured, but our parents and Grandpa and Grandma are in there too.)

Anywhoo, if you don't know me that well, feel free not to watch!
C&D, I made it with you in mind too, so I think you'll like it. :)

holiday hoedown

2009-12-07T23:13:00.000-08:00

It's that special time of year when Presbygal and I don our elf gear and do some holiday dancing. This year we invited a couple of swell guys -- George Clooney and James Taylor. Good times.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Nothing says Christmas like frozen batteries...

2009-12-05T00:04:00.000-08:00

This postcard was sent to Miss Maggie Ryan, Route #3, Hillsboro, Oregon by her sister almost exactly 100 years ago (at 5 p.m. on December 6, 1909 to be precise).

Seems the sisters were hit with a cold spell.

Dear Maggie, Well are you all froze in out there? I guess the batteries are frozen anyway. Don't you want some one to fix them? I haven't talked to anyone since I haven't been very well the last few days. I wrote to Ma today. Answer soon. Your sis.

(I'm wondering how one fixes frozen batteries, because I would think they would just explode and/or leak.)

Friday Five Do Nothing Edition

2009-12-04T08:15:00.000-08:00

Sallys says: I am reading a wonderful little book for Advent it's title: "Do nothing Christmas is Coming!" So this weeks Friday Five is simple. List Five things you won't be doing to prepare for Christmas. And while you are doing nothing play the bonus, put your feet up and listen to your favourite Advent Carol, and post it or a link to it.

Hmm... It would perhaps have been easier to list what I still have to do to prepare for Christmas! But in any event, to prepare for Christmas I will not be...

1. ...eating fruitcake. This is incredibly easy since I don't like it.

2. ...drinking eggnog. (Ditto, and let me add "Ewwwww.")

3. ...not be putting up all of the Christmas decorations inside the house. (The Coca-Cola bears were never a good idea!)

4. ...not hosting our two-family gift exchange (with the Dust Bunny family) at our house since the Thanksgiving Pie Fest was here.

5. ...not going to go crazy with putting up lots of outdoor lights and decorations. C&D get to do that when they get home!

Here's that bonus Christmas song:

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cartoon from here

I'm baaaaack

2009-11-30T23:53:00.001-08:00

After a bit of a blogger break, I am back! (Blogpals, I'll be checking in with your blogs soon!) We had a good Thanksgiving, although the time went by waaay too fast for C&D who had homework to do. Here's Christina with her anthropology project:

(Any guesses?)

And we had our 3rd Annual Thanksgiving Pie Fest with the Dust Bunny family. This year we all chose for our attire (or costume) something that represented Thanksgiving; a do-your-own-thing category. As for my family: Mike and I did a role reversal of the Normal Rockwell Thanksgiving painting (which allowed me to wear my grandfather's old suit!), my mom was a piece of pie, and C&D were pumpkins. The Dust Bunny family got into the spirit of things nicely too...

just to let ya know

2009-11-21T19:10:00.000-08:00

As you may (or may not) have noticed, I haven't been blogging (reading or posting!) in about a week. I've put in a request for 26 hour days, but haven't heard back yet.

In any event, hope to be back blogging soon, so please --

(googled the pic)

uh oh

2009-11-15T22:56:00.000-08:00

I don't usually blog the weather report, but I just read this on KATU's website:

November is prime time for storms around here and this year is no different as two storms are racing toward the Pacific Northwest, expected to bring heavy rain and possibly very strong winds to parts of the region Monday and Tuesday.

High Wind Warnings are now in effect from 6 p.m. Sunday through 4 p.m. Tuesday for the coast and Northwest Interior from Monday morning through Tuesday morning. Along the coast, we could see gusts of 70 to 85 miles per hour at times, with gusts of 60 to 70 miles per hour in the north interior.

In addition, Flood Watches are in effect for all rivers that feed off the Olympic Mountains, as well as rivers in Whatcom, Skagit and Snohomish Counties.

Apparently this will be me tomorrow and/or Tuesday:

Friday the 13th Five

2009-11-13T08:04:00.000-08:00

1. How is this Friday the 13th looking for you?
Well, it could be looking better. Hubby is sick! Yesterday he left work early with a pounding headache, then developed a fever and nausea. (I'd report on his progress, but he's still sleeping!) I suppose technically we can't blame Friday the 13th since it happened on Thursday the 12th!

2. Have you ever had anything unlucky happen on Friday the 13th?
Nope, can't say that I have. As a child I had a black cat, so I'm sure 'Katze' counter-acted anything that Friday the 13th could throw my way! ;)
Here's Katze and me:

(The camera caught me at half blink, but Katze made up for it with his wiiiiiide open eyes!)

3. Did your family of origin embrace or scorn superstitions?
We'd be more on the scorn side! Although I think 'amused' would be a better word.

4. Are there any unique or amusing ones from your family, region, or ethnic background?
Yes, there's that word amusing! My ethnic background is "Germans from Russia" and one superstition is that if you, for example, bruise your elbow or knee, your parent (or friend or whatever) blows on or kisses the area while saying "Heile, Heile Katzendreck, Morgen ist alles Wieder Weg!" -- which I think basically means with the magic of cat poop, it will be better tomorrow.

(Who knew there would be a picture of Katzendreck on the internet?!)

5. Do you love or hate horror movies like "Friday the 13th"?
Hate them. And I can't over-state that.

The "Starkey Effect"

2009-11-09T22:43:00.000-08:00

You've seen Jesus in toast and Mary in grilled cheese...

Now witness the greatest miracle of all. Ringo Starr's face in a droplet of water bouncing on a lotus leaf.

Yep, a Duke University team researching water-repellent leaf behavior took high-speed images of water drops bouncing off a lotus leaf and saw the face of Ringo. (Full story here.)

And this inspired me to post Mr. Starkey himself and Photograph...